


Threads

by honeynutfeeleos



Category: Naruto
Genre: All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst, Basically I hate the way naruto ended and how both Sakura and Sasuke were treated by it, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Multi, Romance, This ship had good potential but was handled terribly so here we are, Time Travel, Work In Progress, i should be passing my classes not doing this, i update fairly regularly, in this house we stan proper growth and redemption, please feel free to review
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-07-16 09:37:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16083416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honeynutfeeleos/pseuds/honeynutfeeleos
Summary: With Konoha on the brink of a war it cannot win, Sakura is sent back in time to ensure a more hopeful future. But in between completing her mission and maintaining the facade of a 12-year-old she has a lot cut out for herself.(In which Sakura has an awful lot, a crapton, a shitload, an absolute overflowing landfill of regrets. Except for this time, she gets the chance to change that.)





	1. Proposition

 

The sun was well and truly gone when the ANBU found her. With her work at the hospital and apprenticeship to Tsunade, she was not unused to their late night summons. Not caring for modesty, Sakura swung out of bed and pulled on a pair of loose pants and her jounin vest before following her escort out into the cold night.

“Seal the room” Tsunade gruffed, as Sakura closed the door to the Hokage’s office. She quickly did as asked and turned to face her mentor. Tsunade looked at her with a calculating glint. “Can I trust you Sakura?”

“Of course,” she frowned, “I’d follow you anywhere, as my Hokage you have my utmost loyalty”

“Anywhere…” It was Tsunade's turn to frown, then sighed rubbing her temples, “We are running out of time.”

“Are you talking about Akatsuki? Other than the extraction of the 8-tails our spies have reported no recent movement. Or is it the snake? It was reported that S-…” Sakura shoved down a well of emotion, “that the Uchiha killed him.”

“Akatsuki, Orochimaru, Kabuto, the Uchiha brat, does it matter? I trust none of them and they all have a reason to hate us”

Sakura gulped thinking of the Uchiha massacre, once again shoving down her own feelings of guilt and resentment for her teammates keeping her in the dark and her own foolishness thinking herself strong enough to kill Sasuke-kun. What kind of teammate, no what kind of  _ friend _ was she to- but she wasn’t his friend. She never was, and he isn’t sasuke-kun anymore.

Tsunade was handing her a small slip of paper. It was a scratch card. “Winning numbers were released this morning, I won the grand lotto. Something is coming Sakura, I can feel it and we won’t be able to stand it not even if all the shinobi nations stood together against it. We need more  _ time _ !” Slamming her fist against the desk Tsunade took a deep breath, unclenched her fist, and reached into her desk pulling out a familiar item.

Sakura’s eyes widened. Tsunade held the first’s necklace like it was radioactive, “I asked to borrow this from Naruto, thankfully the brat didn’t ask too many questions. Sakura, what I tell you cannot leave this room, understand?” At Sakura’s nod she continued. “When my grandfather built this village, he did so with a safeguard. In the event that Konoha strays from its original path, or faces an obstacle it cannot survive,it is to be used. He developed a technique that would enable the user to travel back in time. But only at the cost of the present, our reality would cease to exist. So it is to be used as  _ only _ a last resort.”

Sakura’s mind spun with the implications. Time travel. It seemed crazy, but then again, to the untrained civilian eye so was chakra and jutsus. It was a big world after all, much of it unexplored. Still, as a woman of science it was hard for her to grasp such wild claims.

“Why tell me this now?”

“Although never tested it takes an enormous amount of power to use and the toll on the body...it would kill any normal human. With our creation rebirth technique though…there is a chance of survival. As much as I hate to admit it I’m getting old, and you Sakura, have surpassed me in both the power of the mind and body.”

“You don't mean? You can't possibly want  _ me  _ to travel back?”

“That’s exactly what I mean. You are the only one who can do this, and not just because of your healing abilities. You alone possess the tactical skill and intelligence to carry out this mission. But remember sakura, this is our trump card, only to be used in our last most desperate moments. Do you accept? Will you learn this technique?”

Sakura stood there for a long while. If she traveled back she could lose everything, this was no month long mission where no matter how hard it got she could still hold onto the hope of coming home, this would last her entire lifespan. She would never be able to trust anyone again, never be able to tell anyone the truth, she would be alone facing the hardest most challenging mission she had ever even heard of. But, if not her then who? Tsunade was right, war was coming, if she stayed she just as easily could lose all she held dear. At least if she went back she would have a chance, no matter how slim. She could potentially save so many lives…

She squared her shoulders and made up her mind, “I’m in.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? Yeah? first chapter! wooooooo! So this is the first time I've actually published a fanfic I have written (they usually live in the deep deep depths of my google drive never to see the light of day) so reviews are very much welcome (though do please be kind). I'll try to update as often as I can and the further we get into the story the longer the chapters will be getting. Unfortunately, the first few chapters are more expository than anything so they'll typically be shorter than per usual just because of the pacing. Well, that's it for the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed reading it.


	2. sandcastles

 

She didn’t end up using the jutsu until 2 years later. It took half a year to figure out the technique and another half to seal it into her skin. The necklace was the key. It opened up a vault underneath the hokage monument. Inside was a small innocuous looking scroll, it was strange how something so small could hold so much power. But then again, Sakura knew something about being underestimated.

 

They couldn’t be sure of when she would be sent back to or if she would remain in her present body or replace her old self in the event she ended up in a time she was alive. They barely even knew if it would work, all they had to go off of was pure hypothesis. Like the one on her forehead, this one folded in on itself to just a fraction of the size. It was so small, placed right over her heart. From far away it looked like a large freckle or birthmark, a  dense crisscrossing of lines and swirls.

 

Sakura sometimes thought about what would cause her to use the seal. It was sick but she couldn’t help it. Konoha would be burning. Naruto would be dead in her arms probably. Kakashi too. Or maybe it wouldn’t be at home at all? Maybe it would be some faraway battlefield where they had their glorious last stand against the Akatsuki. She would be the last one standing looking over a sea of carnage and then she would whisk away to save the world. Or maybe the council would find out their plan and she would have to perform it just as root was breaking down her door. She was wrong on all accounts. It wasn’t glorious, she never saw Naruto, and it wasn’t performed in any desperate rush for time.

 

The first day of the war they lost half of their forces. Every day she contemplated using the seal, and every day she didn’t. Despite all the overwhelming evidence of hopelessness she just couldn’t give up. Any day now. Any day the tide of the war will change. Naruto will come back, just in the nick of time, he’ll be the hero and save us all. She was really too old to believe in fairy tales. Naruto, in all his brilliance, didn’t stand a chance. No one told her of his death, they didn’t have to. Seeing the Jubi awake was confirmation enough. There was no last stand, there was no stand at all.

 

She sat alone there, vacantly in the ash, like a child in a sandbox who’s castle just collapsed. That was how he found her, just sitting in the wake of the jubi’s destruction. She didn’t have to turn around to tell he was dying. She could tell from the state of his chakra he didn’t have long left, but then neither did she. He came to a halting stop beside her, not saying anything. She didn’t bother to look up.

 

“Hey, Sasuke-kun. Do you ever miss how green Konoha was?”

 

He didn’t answer for several long moments, the silence growing long and heavy.

 

“Yes.”

 

She nodded smiling a little, then formed the hand signs she had memorized over and over releasing first the seal on her forehead then the one over her heart.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I'm not sure if i use too many commas or too few? anyone in the comments wanna clue me in? IM SORRY this chapter was so short but once again it is an exposition/ transition chapter so it is bound to be short. besides! next chapter is when it really starts!!!!! so we all have that to look forward to. As for anyone who might be thinking "why didn't she use the seal earlier? she could have saved so many lives" well this is a Big Decision Sakura is facing, there's no going back once she releases it so of course she would be hesitant and try to cling to hope as long as she could. it was only ever supposed to be used as a last resort and knowing the kind of optimistic person sakura is she would only be able to bring herself to use it at absolute rock bottom or for the sake of someone else. Here, she uses it for both of those reasons.


	3. acclimation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this should have been finished last week

Sakura woke up with a gasp. Disoriented and kicking her way out of bed she stumbled and fell onto a plush carpet. She frowned fighting back a wave of nausea. Carpet? Her apartment was all hardwood floors. Shaking, she rose a hand to her temple and healed her pounding headache with just a brush of her fingertips. 

 

Wait. that’s not her hand. She looked at it. No, that was  _ definitely _ not her hand.  _ Her _ hand was slightly larger for one. And it was firmly calloused, with small nearly invisible scars from a lifetime of training. This one was small and dainty with pale breakable fingers like a doll’s. Her head felt heavy, a curtain of sweet smelling pink falling into her face obscuring her peripheral vision. Ugh how impractical, using scented shampoo as a ninja was like asking for death. Taking a steadying breath, she looked up from the rather impeccably cleaned carpet to see her childhood bedroom looking back. 

 

Rising to her feet, she stumbled a few steps to a mirror. Quietly, she traced the girl. She was familiar the way a dream was, with a too big forehead and large green eyes set with a small button nose, the overall look was emphasized by the childlike roundness to her face and distractingly pink hair. Contradictory to the innocence of her features, she looked pale and gaunt, covered in a cold sweat, eyes wide with sick horror. So it had worked. She was back in her...how old was she? She looked around her room, no forehead protector, so she must still be in her academy days, but when? 

 

“Sakura?” She froze at the call from outside her door. Not trusting herself to speak she watched as it opened. Her mother, stress free and young peered around the frame. “Are you alright? I heard a thump.”

 

“Uh, yeah. I-I’m fine just woke up weird is all.”

 

Mebuki frowned, “Okay, well hurry up and eat breakfast before it gets cold, you don’t want to be late for class.”

 

“Yeah I won’t, thanks, mom.” The word felt weird on her tongue. She hadn’t seen her parents since the beginning of the war, and even then she had long since moved out. Her irregular hospital hours had demanded it and she had hated coming home to them covered in blood. As civilians, they had never understood their daughter’s need to be a shinobi, much less the more unsavory work that came with it. 

 

Stepping into the shower she allowed a few seconds for the water to wash over her. There was no point in wallowing, that’s what Tsunade would say. She had a mission now, and like any mission, she needed a plan. A good ninja would report to her Hokage. But, could she trust Sarutobi? She knew Naruto had trusted him, but that was as a child and she had never known him beyond Tsunade's anecdotes. She had no way of telling what would happen or what would be done to her if she revealed herself. After all, any Hokage who lasted through three ninja wars would be no pushover. For now, it was better to keep it a secret, same went with her increased strength. She bit her lip, thanks to her blast to the past she was pathetically weak in the physical department but her chakra reserves were still at high jounin level. Still, she couldn’t risk not being put on team 7. For now, she would pretend to be much weaker than she was and then slowly start showing more and more strength. To do so, she would need to seal her chakra to the level of a genin, leaving her with a little less than 10% to work with, which was fine with her, it was never too early to start on the strength of a 100 seal.

 

Still, that didn’t mean she had to be an empty headed fangirl, that was a part she never wanted to play again. Looking through her closet she grimaced. Not only were the dresses impractical, so was the color scheme, it was bad enough having  _ pink _ hair. Eventually, after rummaging long enough, she was able to find a nice pair of semi-fashionable but still functional dark navy blue ninja pants and a green top with the Haruno symbol embolized on the back. Truthfully, she missed the red but during the war, she had experienced first hand how unpractical the color was. There was a reason ninjas of the  _ leaf _ village wore green. Running her fingers through her hair, she pulled it back into a simple high ponytail, hesitating before tying it back with the red ribbon had given her. It would be better to braid it but after so long with short hair...she wasn’t entirely sure if she could remember how. 

 

After choking down a quick breakfast, Sakura grabbed her lunch and let her mother know she was leaving. it had been so long since she had had a homemade bento. Nostalgia washed over her, it was like she was just a little kid again...although she supposed in some ways she was. She felt a small grin come over her, she was back, she was really back. The streets were already bustling and the vendors calling out their wares in the crisp early morning. Sakura breathed in the familiar smells and let her eyes wonder high and low. She was in no rush, she still had plenty of time and knew the way by heart, a little meander here and there wouldn’t hurt anyone she reasoned. Raising her face to the sky she felt sunlight peer through the trees and dapple her skin. Sakura walked slower, forcing her brain to memorize every little detail. Too soon, however, she had come to the classroom door. Inside Sakura could hear her peers laughing and talking. They were so innocent...they had no idea of the horrors promised. Sakura shook her head. No. Not anymore, she would break that future. Realistically, Sakura knew no ninja could ever stay innocent for long, but...what she had seen went beyond the horrors of even their profession. 

 

Exhaling a resolved breath, Sakura quietly slid the door open and stepped inside. Only a couple of the more observant ninja noticed her entrance before quickly disregarding it. Looking over the crowd she felt her breath hitch at the sight of Ino nagging Naruto. They looked so young...but still nothing had changed. Ino was still loud and Naruto was still obnoxious. Her smile faded when it landed on Sasuke. He was sitting a row just above the two blondes, looking like he wanted to move. Sakura swallowed down a lump in her throat, even as a child Sasuke had had an otherworldly quality to him. The way the light hit his face from the open window was a goddamn masterpiece, she felt as if she were in the presence of a young deity. But she was here to save not ogle him, so she let her eyes pass on. No matter what Sakura knew she had to save him, regardless of any personal feelings, Sasuke remained a catalyst for the war. If she could prevent Sasuke from joining Orochimaru it would stack the odds in Konoha’s favor.

 

“WOAH! SAKURA-CHAN YOU LOOK GREAT!”

 

Classic Naruto. Unfortunately, it also drew the attention of the class, including one Ino Yamanaka. 

 

She sneered as she gave Sakura a once over, “Trying to catch Sasuke-kun’s attention with your new outfit forehead? How pathetic, you couldn’t even find your own hairstyle.”

 

Sakura sighed, as much as she had missed Ino she had not missed this period of rivalry. The sooner they could make peace the better. “I’m not trying  _ anything _ Ino, it’s just more practical.”

 

“Don’t lie! This is just a new angle to steal MY future husband!” Ino was now trying to grab onto an increasingly annoyed Sasuke. 

 

Sakura winced, is this really how she and the other fangirls had acted? No wonder Sasuke hated her when on team 7. “How’re you supposed to marry him if he doesn’t even want to be near you Pig?” Dryly she watched Sasuke try to scoot away from Ino’s flailing arms. 

 

“Hmph! As if he wants to be around YOU of all people billboard brow” 

 

Glancing around Sakura realized they had gathered a pretty large audience. “I don’t care about who he wants” That was a lie. “There’s no point in obsessing someone you don’t even know, it’s nothing but a distraction.” At least that much was true. If this mission was to be successful, Sakura would have to put any personal feelings second. She would be his teammate, maybe friend, nothing more. Pushing past Ino she moved to stand next to Naruto. 

 

“Can I sit here? I promise I won’t yell and you can copy my notes if you want?” 

 

His responding smile made this whole damn hell mission worth it. 

 

~

 

The next week was spent trading her wardrobe for a more functional one and rekindling her friendship with Ino (two birds with one stone). Sakura had also taken to sharing her lunch with Naruto; this way ensuring he didn’t eat  _ just _ ramen. Over time, Naruto’s crush had also disappeared and their relationship became reminiscent of the one from Sakura’s past life. Being friends with pre genin Naruto also meant being dragged along on harebrained schemes and pranks. Thankfully though, the occurrence of such adventures were less frequent than that of Sakura’s past life academy age Naruto.  

 

Most of Sakura’s time, however, was spent devoted to training. It was a regimen that made Tsunade’s look easy. Every morning before the academy she would train for two hours, first strapping weights to her arms and legs to run a daily circuit around Konoha without the use of chakra. This raised both her stamina and her speed as she attempted to beat the day before’s time. Then for half an hour, she would work on strength building, once again, without the use of any chakra. It was challenging as chakra was completely autonomic but it heightened her personal strength and already impeccable chakra control. With the half hour remaining she would brush up medical ninjutsu and make different medicinal salves and ointments. After class, she would then part ways with Naruto and work past sunset in both taijutsu and weaponry. Before bed, she would read scrolls on ninjutsu and genjutsu. She was trying to find a way to create a genjutsu in order to store her memories and knowledge from her past life but it was proving tricky. The work was slow going but soon she started showing more and more physical improvement over time.

 

Based on the point in their academy classes, Sakura would guess they had only half a month or so before graduation. However, it seemed to her that many students were still very unprepared for the life of a ninja. By Sakura’s estimate, about 80% of the class could use another year or so of training, and that was being generous. The majority of this figure was made of children from civilian and smaller ninja clans. Speaking from her own experience and observations, the training given at the academy was  _ not  _ enough to set civilian child equal to the outside training and techniques afforded to a clan child. They were like two separate worlds, that being why she had expected little to no interaction with Sasuke before graduation. 

 

For once Sakura was glad for the divide, it was selfish but Sakura didn’t know if she could handle being around him more than what was necessary for the mission. Logically, Sakura knew that this Sasuke was innocent and any rude or unkind tendencies were due to his strict Uchiha upbringing, but still she couldn’t help but feel angry for Sasuke’s actions in her past life. After all, anger was much more useful than sadness and if she separated her emotions and focused on the mission instead of fragile things like hope or lost love she wouldn’t run the risk of a breakdown. 

 

Throwing a rut in her plans, however, they ended up partners on one of the taijutsu practical assessments. The task was a fairly simple one, students would first be split into completely random partners of two. Starting from an assigned spot, they would then need to storm an area secured by the chunin senseis in order to acquire a flag. However, the catch was there were only half as many flags are there were pairs. For a moment, Sakura thought this was another Kakashi bell test, then completely disregarded that thought. Kakashi had always been a bit...unconventional in his teachings. Besides, it was not uncommon to have to compete with another village or third party on a real mission. 

 

The partners were decided with the time-honored strategy of pulling them out of a hat. Knowing he probably wouldn’t get up, Sakura quietly made her way over to Sasuke’s seat; ignoring the female glares thrown her way. It was no accident the groupings were read out loud, everyone would know who was with who and what combinations to watch out for. 

 

She came to a stop in front of him murmuring a hello. Sakura was nervous, she had never worked together with Sasuke like this before. 

 

Sasuke just stood up and walked out the door.

 

Sakura rolled her eyes and followed him to their starting position high in the trees, but still felt slightly hurt despite knowing that right now in this life, he doesn’t know her and she’s barely even a teammate to him. 

 

“You stay here, I’ll get the flag”

 

Sakura was unable to hold in her scoff, if he was going to disregard her, he could at least have the decency to look at her while doing it. “Don’t be stupid, we were put into teams for a reason. We’ll get a flag faster if we work together.” Sasuke blinked and turned, clearly he wasn’t expecting any resistance. “This isn’t just a physical test, think of it as a real mission, blindly attacking without knowing what you’re going into will just get you killed. We don’t need to beat out teams like that, we don’t even need to beat the senseis. What we need is an upper hand on ones with the sense to strategize.”

 

Sasuke’s eyes narrowed, “Nara.”

 

“Yes, any plan we pull won’t fool him for long, so speed is of the essence. but it’s not just him, many of the clan techniques are well suited to these kinds of missions” 

 

“Hn.”

 

“Alternatively, our classmates will most likely see you as the biggest threat.” Asshole seemed to preen at that. “Deception is a ninja’s greatest strength.” she cut her eyes to Sasuke hoping he would understand. “The best thing would be to let them see what they expect to see.”

 

~

 

Sakura paused and looked down at a small clearing and the skirmish below. As predicted, teams were throwing themselves at the defensive line hoping to make a dent. The most impressive of these was Sasuke’s, thankfully, he had recognized the intelligence of her plan and had agreed to be the distraction. His evenly matched fight with Mizuki-sensei had drawn the awe of most students and teachers, momentarily dropping their guards. 

 

Taking advantage, Sakura slunk past, suppressing her chakra to the equivalent of a large squirrel. Not far behind she could sense Shikamaru and other more quick-witted groups following her lead. Working quickly, Sakura grabbed a flag and stuffed it into her weapons pouch. Upon returning to the clearing she allowed her chakra to expand once again hoping the sudden presence would startle an instinctual reaction in Sasuke. Sure enough, his head snapped up in her direction. When his eyes found her hiding spot Sakura waved the flag at him and grinned. It was Sasuke who then rolled his eyes before quickly disengaging Mizuki and retreating.

 

As Sakura drew even with Sasuke she noticed he was slightly out of breath. It seemed that despite how good as he was, taking on a high-level chunin was still a difficulty. 

 

Up ahead she sensed Naruto’s immense chakra overshadowing Kiba’s much smaller reserves. With those two as partners, well trying to outrun them would just prove more trouble than was worth. Sakura skid to a stop, as did Sasuke.

 

“Oh! Ho! Ho! So you’ve noticed my presence have you Sakura-chan!” 

 

She sighed as Naruto not so gracefully jumped down from a tree, subtly was never his strong suit. 

 

“I knew even with that bastard dragging you down you’d get a flag Sakura-chan, my plan is genius!”

 

“Hey! What do ya mean  _ your _ plan? I’m the one who suggested stealing from other teams!”

 

“Shut up! Either way, I’ll be the one to grab the flag!”

 

Shifting her weight into a more defensive stance, Sakura figured she’d let Naruto come to her while Sasuke dealt with Kiba. In her experience, if one wanted to retain any form of control on a situation it was better to avoid any kind of physical fight between Sasuke and Naruto. 

 

As Sakura predicted, Sasuke had charged forward, obviously angered by the insinuation of deadweight only to be ignored by Naruto and left to contend with Kiba instead. Sakura let Naruto get within a foot of her before sliding her back foot out and left into a half-moon stance; pivoting her body out of the way of Naruto’s punch. Coming up behind him, Sakura gave Naruto’s exposed back a light shove throwing him off balance and onto the thick leaf carpet below. Smoothly, she pulled a kunai out of her pouch and knocked Naruto in the head with its hilt. Sakura winced in sympathy. He would be fine, Naruto had a hard head and wouldn’t be out any longer than a couple of minutes with nothing more to show than a bad headache, Sakura still felt a little bad though.  

 

Sasuke was not having as easy a time. He had Kiba pinned and tied up but Akamaru was biting onto his arm, the puppy clinging with a will disproportionate to his size. Sasuke’s head snapped over to her when Sakura failed to stifle a laugh. 

 

“Ahhh. Sorry, It’s not… _ snerk _ ...funny.” Her voice grew higher with each word as she tried to suppress it.

 

Sasuke glared and shook his arm but that only served to make Sakura laugh harder. She knew she really shouldn’t be giggling over something so petty. But after Sasuke had been such a continual asshole, there was something gratifying about seeing the big bad Uchiha struggle to defeat a tiny furball. Eventually, after a few good tries, Sasuke was finally able to shake Akamaru off.  

 

Looking again towards her Sasuke’s eyes narrowed. “You knocked out the idiot.”

 

It wasn’t a statement but regardless she didn’t answer, it didn’t require one. 

 

~

 

“Oh, you two finished quickly. You’ll be glad to know you finished first I suppose.” Absentmindedly the teacher took the flag and tossed it randomly onto her desk before checking their names off a list. When neither Sasuke or Sakura moved, expecting further instructions, the teacher looked back down at them and waved her hand. “You’re excused. Shoo.” 

 

_ How lax... _ Sakura thought it seemed the Konoha’s educational system still had some left to be desired.

 

As they ambled out of the classroom, Sakura noticed the stiff way Sasuke was slightly holding his left arm out. She frowned for a moment before realizing why it was bothering him. Sasuke’s left arm had been the one Akamaru had bitten. 

 

“Sasuke!” He turned. “Your arm is hurt, and it’s not good to leave it unchecked. I’ve been studying medical ninjutsu and can heal it for you if you’d like?”

 

A moment that felt like an eternity passed and Sakura was sure he would refuse before he wordlessly peeled his long sleeve away from his skin and rolled it up to his bicep. His arm had several small puncture wounds; thankfully they didn’t look deep but they were bleeding steadily. Sakura frowned, had he been planning to ignore something like this? She knew the Sasuke from her world had virtually no medical experience and often waited for injuries to just heal themselves. 

 

Taking a deep breath Sakura focused her chakra into her hands and shuffled forward. Nervously, taking care not to touch him, Sakura let her hands hover over his forearm; slowly the tissue knotted itself back together leaving the blood already spilled the only evidence of injury. The second her chakra receded however, Sasuke jerked back. Not bothering to even nod thanks he stalked away shoulders tense. 

 

Sakura grimaced, was the feeling of her chakra really so unpleasant for him? Or was it that his pride wouldn’t permit him to thank her, especially for something like medical ninjutsu? Sakura was not ignorant, she knew healing tended to be looked down upon by many ninja.

 

She got her answer a couple days later, as she trained it had become not unusual to run into Sasuke at her preferred grounds. Usually they had elected to ignore each other, however, when Sasuke arrived he broke his tradition of avoidance. 

 

“Teach me how to do what you did.”

 

Sakura who had been doing handstand pushups almost fell over. “Excuse me?”

 

“How you fixed my arm, tell me how to do it myself.”

 

Sakura frowned, she had lost count. “You mean medical ninjutsu? It’s not that simple I can’t just  _ tell you _ how to do it.” Slowly she started back up from one.

 

“Then show me.”

 

“I told you it’s not that simple. It’s all or nothing when it comes to medical ninjutsu with no room for half-assing. It takes years and years of study and dedication to even attempt a healing, and even then if you don’t have incredibly precise chakra control its all for naught. Trust me, if you could learn just by watching we’d all be medics.”

 

Sasuke’s perpetual frown deepened. It was weird, from where she was standing it looked like a smile, something she’d never seen him do before. She sighed and fell into a backbend ultimately ending with her on her feet. “Tell you what, if you want I can show you some basic first aid that doesn’t require chakra.”

 

At Sasuke’s nod, she sat down and pulled a roll of gauze from her standard ninja pouches. 

 

“Okay, first thing’s first, here’s how you bandage a cut.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, this chapter was much longer than the other two and will probably be about the average length although it really depends on pacing for the length and content of each chapter. Like the first two this chapter is mostly expository although we did get a bit of a peek at Sasuke's emotional constipation and Sakura's trauma and insecurities.


	4. Subversion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi is sassy. also i hate capitalization

Hakate Kakashi had absolutely no interest in becoming a teacher. This was a mistake, a miscalculation, a complete omission of logic, the most inconceivable snafu of his whole fucking career.

“This isn’t a discussion Hakate, it’s an order. You’re the only one considered. Like it or not”

“With all due respect Hokage-sama; consider someone else”

“No. Only you can properly teach the Uchiha boy to harness his power, and Minato-kun was your genin-sensei. Wouldn’t you like to carry on his legacy and watch over his son?”

_Not really_ , Kakashi wanted to say. He didn’t say that.

“You put the village’s jinchuuriki and Uchiha heir on the same genin team Sir, we both know this assignment entails more than just teaching,” Kakashi deadpanned. Putting two unknown, potentially dangerous, assets such as them on the same team was no coincidence, especially not with _him_ as leader.

Sarutobi sighed, “I don’t like this any more than you do Kakashi, but the council-” He sighed again “-well having someone with your...experience soothed the loudest objections to their inclusion within the genin teams...kills two birds with one stone so they say”

“And I’m the stone?”

The Hokage’s silence was telling enough.

“They’re children”

“So make it painless-if of course it comes to that”

Kakashi grit his teeth and looked down at his new team’s file. “What about the girl?” _Haruno Sakura, fitting_. Civilian clan. First generation ninja, no known family aside from her parents. Scored high on technical aspects but is physically below average, even for a kunoichi. Kakashi frowned, “Why was she put on team 7? She’ll never keep up”

“We don’t expect her to. It seems she’s become friends with Naruto, he’s very fond of her you know. And Iruka tells me Sasuke seems to work surprisingly well with her. I hope she may serve as a mediator and calming influence given the boys’s tempermates”

It made sense, team dynamics play an important role in the success of its members. And as a civilian clan girl, she would fit the subordinate role well-just as the Uchiha heir would fit the dominant one. Besides, regardless of her placement, he doubted the girl would stick to the shinobi arts. At best, she would likely end up a career-genin; opting to let her male teammates protect her and handle the more dangerous missions.

Still, no matter how he reasoned himself through it, he found himself guiltily avoiding those bright green eyes smiling softly up from his folder.  
~  
It was petty, but showing up three hours late to the meeting seemed like a nice fuck you to the academy and it made Kakashi slightly feel better about his new mission. Walking down the old halls Kakashi studiously tried to ignore hazy memories of his own school days- and the massive academy issued stick he had had shoved up his ass.

Pulling open the door and poking his head in, Kakashi sensed something drop down towards his head- only to dismiss it as non threatening and brace himself -allowing it to fall squarely with a satisfying plonk.

He sighed, inhaling chalk dust. His uncovered eye scanned the room taking in his three new brats for the first time. Naruto was jumping up and down laughing, while the girl tried to look exasperated, but was given away by a smile playing at the corner of her mouth. The Uchiha was, unsurprisingly, stoically glaring at him.

Kakashi gave a fake smile, “Hmm...how should I put this? Based on my first impression, I’d have to say...I hate you!” Kakashi may have taken some sick pleasure in watching their composure break.  
~  
Once of the rooftop Kakashi asked them to introduce themselves, sharing their likes, dislikes and dreams.

The Uchiha brat went first, “My name is Uchiha Sasuke, I hate a lot of things and I don’t particularly like anything. I don’t have anything as stupid as a dream but I have an ambition. To restore my clan and to kill a certain man”

Kakashi held in a sigh. He _really_ wasn’t being paid enough for this.

“Alright. Tracksuit, you’re up next”

“My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen, pranks, and Sakura-chan! I especially like it when Sakura-chan agrees to go out with me to Ichuraku’s! My dislikes include the 3 minute wait it takes for instant ramen to cook, when Sakura-chan yells at me, or when she forces to eat my veggies! My dream is to become to Hokage and prove myself to everyone who’s ever looked down on me!”

Yeah. About what he expected. Steeling himself to deal with more incessant babbling, he turned to the girl.

“Um, hello! My name is Haruno Sakura. I like reading, training, studying medical ninjutsu, and just generally pushing myself to be better. I dislike liars and unjust people. I dislike also ignorance although sometimes it can’t be helped. My dream is to protect the people I love and to become the greatest medical ninja of all time”

Kakashi blinked. Well, that was unexpected.

“Now that we’re all acquainted, formal training begins tomorrow and you will be given an assessment-if you fail you will be sent back to the academy”

“WHAT?” Naruto jumped up in shock, even Sasuke’s cool glare cracked. Sakura seemed to be the only one taking the news in stride. In fact, she didn’t look surprised at all. Interesting.

“Meet at training ground 7 at 8am. Don’t bother eating breakfast you don’t want to throw up on day one. Oh, and failure rate is 60% so don’t be late. Toodles!”

~

Sakura slept in comfortably the next morning. Afterall, sleep was incredibly important for growing bodies. Training was all well and good but without a good night’s rest it was pointless. As a medic Sakura knew racking up a sleep deficit was the last thing she needed. Similarly, she disregarded Kakashi’s orders and ate a nice balanced breakfast with enough protein and natural carbs to last her through the morning. When she arrived at 9:30 she ignored the shocked looks of both Naruto and Sasuke.

“SAKURA-CHAN YOU’RE HERE!”

“You’re late. Didn’t you pay attention to Kakashi yesterday? We were to arrive at 8am sharp” Sasuke looked furious.

“Didn’t you? He arrived 3 hours late to meet us yesterday looking like he’d rather be anywhere than with us. I was willing to bet it would be a trend. And” Sakura settled down into the lotus position and closed her eyes to meditate “it looks like I was right”

“you were willing to throw away your entire career on a _hunch_?”

Sakura peeked an eye open to look at Sasuke, his shoulders were tense and his hands were curled into fists at his sides. Naruto looked like he was watching an intense sports match; eyes flicking back and forth. She signed and closed her eye “educated guess; please”  
~  
Kakashi arrived half an hour later. “Alright kiddos, here’s how this works. I’ve set this timer to go off at noon, you have by then to steal two small bells from me. Whoever is left without a bell will be tied to a post to starve while the rest of us eat our lunches in front of them. And they’ll be sent back to the academy in disgrace for another year. If you want any hope of passing, come at me with the intent to kill.”

“HA! You couldn’t even dodge an eraser! You’re going to get yourself killed!”

“Only the weak speak so loudly, ignore the dunce, we’ll start on my signal”

Naruto, in typical reckless fashion, charged forward only to be immobilized by Kakashi.

“Not so fast, I didn’t say “go” But at least you struck to kill so, it seems you’ve begun to respect me. Heh, maybe, just maybe, i’m starting to like you three. Now, ready...steady....Go!”

Not learning anything, Naruto refused to hide and threw all caution to the wind charging Kakashi only to, once again, get his ass handed to him. One day, Sakura knew he would develop some mecodom of understanding for stealth... but for now...it seemed still a while off.  
~  
Hands on her hips, she looked up at Naruto dangling by one leg from a tree.

“Sakura-chan!” He twisted to look at her as the rope slowly spun him in a circle. “You’ve got to help me! Kakashi-sensei tricked me and at this rate that bastard Sasuke will be getting all the bells!”

“Sasuke isn’t a bastard Naruto” _Usually_

Naruto gave her a _look_.

She sighed, not wanting to have an argument about the marital status of Sasuke’s parents. “We need to work together Naruto, I’ve already got a plan. If you promise to do everything I say, I’ll let you down.”

“Yeah, yeah sure! Now c'mon, hurry up!”

Quickly judging the trajectory and angle, Sakura let a kunai fly slicing through the rope and imbedding itself into the trunk behind. Naruto fell to her feet in a heap.

Feeling slightly bad, Sakura lent him a hand up. As they followed the signs of destruction through the trees they came upon Sasuke, stuck neck deep into the earth. Naruto’s eyes bulged as he took in a deep breath. Sensing an unhelpful remark, Sakura shoved her elbow into Naruto’s side-effectively silencing him.

Sakura crouched down before Sasuke. “Sasuke. I’m going to get you out of here, but only on one condition. We need to work together to defeat Kakashi. None of us can defeat him on our own. If I help you, I need you to work with me and help get the bells from him.”

“I’ll work with you” He glanced at Naruto, “only you though”

“No. It’s all or nothing. Naruto is a part of this team”

“That’s pointless- there are only two bells”

“Tell you what? If I get a bell I’ll give to you”

“What? Sakura-chan! You can’t! The teme doesn't deserve it!”

Sakura grit her teeth, “shut up Naruto, I know what I’m doing,” She looked back at Sasuke, “Besides, you aren’t really in the position to be arguing”

He seemed to think it over for a moment before giving a slight nod in assent, “Fine, though I doubt you’ll have to. I won’t be dead weight” He looked at Naruto.

She had to hold Naruto back. “Get ready Sasuke. As soon as you can move, do it”

Sakura gathered pure chakra into her hands. Then, smacking her palms against the earth, she pushed her unrefined and destructive chakra into the ground. It was silent for a moment- but then the air was ripped with the sudden sound of fracturing earth forcing the hole Sasuke was stuck in to become big enough to slip out of.

Sakura really tried not to let the little burst of satisfaction at Naruto and Sasuke’s faces go to her head. _Really_.

~  
Sakura ran through the trees. Up ahead she felt a small shift in her perception, a thin curtain of chakra lay before her. She barreled right into it, pretending not to notice the slight haze that comes with genjutsus cross her mind.

“S-Sakura-chan… help m-me” A bloodied Naruto stumbled out of the trees, orange jumper riddled with shuriken. It wasn’t a very good illusion, or well actually, on a second thought she supposed it would be rather convincing to a genin. Still, she had to stop herself from dispelling it immediately. He was lazily woven from only one small unlikely layer, after all, _her_ Naruto had a small cut right under his nose from when he had attempted to shave his non-existent mustache. This one did not. His weapon holster was also too clean, the real Naruto’s was academy issued and beat up from misuse.

Her brain told her all of this in a second. Her heart however, stuttered at the sight of him. Was this what Naruto had looked like at the end? Had the light in his eyes refracted the same way?

The copy shuddered, then shook, before completely disappearing to reveal big blue eyes and a steady hand on her shoulder.

“Sakura-chan? Are you alright?”

She forced in a deep breath, “Fine. You found sensei alright?”

“The bastard’s after him now, sticking to the plan.”

Naruto had formed three clones. Swiftly, they left her to follow Kakashi’s flank. Sasuke charged in head on. Sakura watched as he got effortlessly batted back or shoved into a clone. Not a single hit landing. Now the predator no longer the prey Sakura circled around trying to dart through and get at Kakashi’s back. Inch by inch, for every clone dispelled and every hit evaded, Kakashi was pushed back to the original clearing by the river.

With a sudden swell of smoke, Naruto upped his summon from 3 to 30. Shoving through the confusion, Sakura grunted at a wayward punch to the nose. Falling down onto one arm she kicked at Kakashi’s knee. Kakashi lurched back.

Up against a tree, their teacher was suddenly hoisted up into the air by his left foot. Hands mobbed forward searching for bells.

“GOT EM! SAKURA-CHAN I GOT THEM!” Naruto’s clone fell back arm raised triumphantly in the air.

Sakura smirked and rubbed at her nose, _look underneath the underneath eh sensei_?

“Well, well, it looks like you three were able to do it after all.” The voice came from behind them.

Kakashi was no longer tied up, instead leaning against one of the wooden posts arms crossed. A poor confused Naruto hung in his place.

“What!” The Naruto opened his fist to reveal not bells, but leaves. At that moment the alarm went off signaling the end of the test.

“Congratulations, you all pass!”

Sasuke frowned, “What the hell do you mean? We didn’t get any bells. We failed”

“So _you_ certainly missed the point of the exercise.” Kakashi signed and looked at Naruto only to be met with a blank stare. “...I don’t believe this. Sakura, care to explain since it seems you’ve been the only one to catch it?”

“Teamwork. The point was to see if we could overcome something playing us against each other for the good of the mission, right?”

“Exactly! A true Shinobi seeks for the hidden meanings within the hidden meanings. Above all else, you are a team! Learn to act as one! In a ninja’s world those who fail to follow orders are trash. However! Those who do not care for or support their comrades are lower than that. Naruto, you tried to play hero and single handedly do the work of all three. Sasuke decided the others were in his way and went solo, only agreeing to help when it benefited him at Sakura’s expense. Still, by the end you three worked well together and showed potential to become a strong team. You all pass today but I expect you brats to work to improve your teamwork and learn to rely on each other”

Kakashi looked over the faces of his new team. Naruto looked vaguely ashamed at his earlier behavior but mostly relieved. Sakura looked strangely worried, face a stony blank, hands quietly wringing themselves in her lap. Sasuke was glaring at a point past his right ear, refusing to look down but refusing to make eye contact.

Kakashi sighed, “That’s all for today team 7. Your duties will commence tomorrow same time and place” Not waiting for a response, Kakashi sushined away, leaving his team to celebrate.

“Wow! That was scary!” Naruto stretched out before placing his hands on his hips, “I thought for sure we were going to fail! Good thing we agreed to your plan Sakura-chan! Bet you wish you hadn’t been such an asshole earlier huh teme?”

“Shut up dobe, you didn’t get what the assignment was about either. You couldn’t even get the bells outnumbering Kakashi 30-1”

Sakura released a quiet breath through her nose, wincing when it was still a little tender. “Calm down guys, none of that matters. We passed that's the important thing! How about we take Kakashi-sensei’s suggestion and work on our teamwork?”

“Hn. I’ll train with you, but I won’t work with someone so incapable and unserious about being a shinobi as the dobe”

“hA! Like I want to be on a team with some loser who gets stuck neck deep in the ground!” Naruto turned away, ”I’m going to Ichiraku's, you coming Sakura-chan?”

She winced hating to pick a side, “Actually Naruto, I’m not hungry and want to get some more training in today. Maybe next time?”

“Yeah, sure. Whatever. I’ll see you” Naruto turned again and pointed at Sasuke, eyes cold, “don’t you try anything while I’m gone though teme, or I’ll seriously kill you”

Sasuke’s responding “like you could” could have at least waited until Naruto was a suitable ways away.

Sakura found herself halfheartedly glaring at him. “Don’t be so hard on him, Naruto’s a really good guy, and he’s going to be a really great ninja one day. I just know it.”

Sasuke scoffed, “You really think _that_ idiot is going to be Hokage one day?”

“Yeah, I really do. He may be reckless, but his hearts in the right place. That’s what really matters” She smiled, “He’s going to be the greatest hokage of all time, I’ll make sure of it.”

Sasuke looked away clenching and unclenching his fists. “Let's just start.”

“Okay, how about we try something different? Taijutsu only spar, first be be pinned for 15 seconds loses”

He nodded, dropping into a offensive stance while Sakura went into a defensive one.

They circled each other for a few moments before Sasuke got impatient and came at her with a snarl. He was fast. And on the attack. Grated teeth and barely there movements Sakura frowned but ducked and dodged each one. Fists tucked in close to her body.

Sasuke’s attacks grew more and more fervent and less and less coordinated. Seemed, he wasn’t used to finding a match his own age. Watching his scowl deepen was admittedly funny, but after a bit, Sakura started to worry his face would get stuck that way. Seeing a chance she stepped into him and wrapped her leg around his shoving them off balance. Landing on top of his chest, Sakura leaked some chakra into her arms and legs, knowing that without it, she would be having a much harder time pinning Sasuke.

“Yield.”

He shook his head and thrashed his body trying to get her off him.

Sakura grunted and, annoyed, leaned more weight into him. “Give up Sasuke. You’re beaten.”

Sasuke refused, struggling even after the 15 seconds were up. When Sakura released him he shot to his feet. “I want a rematch”

Sakura, still on the ground, tilted her head in irritable confusion. “Uh...no? I mean I’d happily spar with you again...but-” She frowned “I don’t think that’s the best idea right now. What the hell’s got you so twisted up?”

“Nothing. I’m fine”

Sakura looked at him then sighed, “Alright. You asked for it”

Slowly, she rose into an offensive position as did he. Without wait, Sasuke launched himself at her. Sakura played along before she grew impatient and body slammed him into the earth.

“Okay, this is pointless. What’s wrong Sasuke? No bullshit” Speaking softer this time, she relaxed the tension from her shoulders. “I only want to help you”

There was silence for a moment. Her standing. Him sitting, looking down at the ground brow furrowed.

“You knew the whole time didn’t you? You knew what the test was really about.That’s why you were willing to give me your bell, you knew it wouldn’t matter” He sat in silence for a few seconds before he nodded, raked the back of his hand across his mouth and stood up. “I need you to fight me”

“What” _Was he stupid_? “Sasuke? Did you hit your head or something?”

“I’m fine Sakura” He was calm. Weirdly so. “I need to get stronger. And you’re better than I expected. Today showed me that. That’s why I need to fight you”

Wait. That sounds like-does he mean? Are they rivals now? _Fuck_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah okay I know this is ridiculously late but I’m my defense my life slightly imploded. So this chapter is called subversion because in it Sakura subverts the base expectations of who she will be in this life. She is a tiny pink haired civilian clan girl and is underestimated because of it. Within canon she is pretty much ignored by Kakashi it isn’t right but given her immature and naive attitude when she was a genin it was (somewhat) understandable. I also always thought it was weird that naruto and sasuke were put on the same team with Kakashi (a former assassin who probably shouldn’t be let around children). It makes sense in having interesting characters but like,,,in a militaristic society? A bit too conveniet especially given how dangerous of assets they are to Konoha. It may be the “nice” village but it’s still a ninja village. Sasuke (and to a lesser extent Naruto) were also made to reevaluate who Sakura is this time around. I had fun writing Kakashi this chapter. Don’t think I’ll just be sticking with only Sakura’s perspective this whole story


	5. D-rank

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Catch me rummaging through my spice drawer @1am trying to figure out wtf cumin smells like

Much to Naruto (and Sasuke)’s disappointment, Team Seven’s first missions were more weeding, painting, and babysitting elders, than saving princesses or capturing rouges. But how could she blame them? Sakura understood the frustration, she was supposed to save the world but she was stuck as a 12 year old doing menial tasks. And the variables of time travel? How on earth was she supposed to do this without fucking it up? Tsunade was wrong when she chose her, Sakura wasn’t a leader like Naruto, a strategist like Shikamaru, nor was she gifted with natural talent like Sasuke. She was barely an adult- and all she could do was try and prepare as best she could, try not to get caught, and try to hold her team together.  

Matters were made worse, by Sasuke’s sudden silent drive to beat her at every self imposed competition, once she would have done anything to get his attention and now she would do anything to get it off her. It aggravated and confused her, she felt like she was being put under a microscope. One small mercy however, was that Sasuke’s challenges were never verbally issued like Naruto’s had been, but it was clear all the same that anything she did he had to do it better and faster.

“You missed a spot over there”

Sakura looked behind her at Kakashi, who was kicked back on a lawn chair giggling and drinking lemonade.

She sighed, she seemed to be doing a lot of sighing lately. “You aren’t even looking sensei” 

“One doesn’t always need to look to see Sakura-chan.” He took a long and obnoxious slurp from his lemonade and turned the page.

Sakura made a face, _Where did he even get that?_ and turned back to see Sasuke smugly painting over the bit she had, apparently, missed. Yeah, when she signed up to travel back in time, it wasn’t for this.

“Hey Naruto? Could you hand me some more paint?”

“Sure Sakura-chan!” Naruto paused in wildly splattering paint against the graffitied wall, brush in each hand.

Sasuke scoffed and held out a can of paint, glaring at Naruto. “Here”

“No! No! It’s fine Sakura-chan! I’ve got you-wOAH!” As if in glorious slow motion, Naruto lurched forward and fumbled with his paint and brushes. Sakura tried to shield her face as the can slipped from his fingers and hit the ground paint splattering everywhere.

“Ohhh boy…” Kakashi raked a hand down his face.

“You... _idiot_!” Teeth and fists clenched, Sasuke stalked forward, leaning down so he was nose to nose with Naruto. Paint covered his front and trickled down his cheek.

“I...I’m sorry. I didn’t meant to!” Naruto took a step back, mouth quivering with shock.

“You think that’s good enough? Grow up. This entire time you’ve been nothing but dead weight for Sakura and me,” He straightened, looking down at Naruto. “you’re a disgrace to ninja everywhere”

“Sasuke enough!” Sakura said, forcing herself into the argument. “It was a mistake, he already apologized”

“No no no no….I wanna hear what this bastard really thinks about me,” Naruto said, starting forward. “Hey! Come on Sakura-chan! Lemme go! I gotta teach him a lesson, I’m gonna be Hokage someday you know? He’s gotta respect me”

“I’ll never respect you. Even if you become the strongest Hokage there ever was”

“Alright...that’s enough you two. You’re a team like it or not. Take a break for lunch to clean up and cool off alright?” Kakashi said stepping in.

“Fine. C’mon Sakura-chan let’s go to Ichuraku’s”

Sakura hesitated, looking at Sasuke. His dark eyes bore into her. She looked away,”yeah, okay, Naruto”

They walked into town in an uncomfortable silence.  Naruto was already halfway through his first bowl when he finally spoke.

“Sakura-chan?”

“Yeah?” She said, setting down her chopsticks, neither of them seemed to have much appetite.

“Why do you think Sasuke hates me so much?” He had stopped eating as well, looking into his bowl like it held the answer.

Sakura swiveled in her seat, setting her hand into her chin. “I don’t think he hates you Naruto-” She blew a stray bang out of her eyes- “he’s just more introverted and isn’t used to you yet. Hanging around us is probably a lot after being isolated so long you know?”

“But-“ His brow creased-  “why would he _want_ to be alone?”

“No one wants to be alone. Some people just haven’t found their people yet. That’s why we have to be there for Sasuke, it might take him a while to realize but he’s part of our team now, one of us. So be nice to him”

“But he’s _such_ an asshole” Naruto whined.

“Everyone’s an asshole sometimes, you just have to know when to call them out on it and when to let it go and be the bigger person” 

“You have so much faith in him Sakura-channnn. I’m getting kinda jealous” Naruto tried to joke, falling flat.

“Of course I have faith in him, he’s my friend, I’ve faith in you too”

They were silent for a little while longer, Naruto processing Sakura’s words.

“Sakura-chan….?” Naruto’s voice was hesitant. “Why did you become friends with me?”

Sakura’s eyes widened before relaxing into a smile. “Hmm...I’d say...because I wanted to-” His head snapped up in shock. Sakura laughed- “c’mon don’t look so surprised. You looked like you needed a friend and I wanted to get to know you” _I just wanted to make up for lost time._  

“That’s it? You just wanted to? You ignored what everyone said about me just because I looked like I needed a friend?”

“Well...that’s why I talked to you initially...but staying your friend? Sharing my lunch with you and getting into trouble with you? I did that because I like you and it’s fun being with you. Besides, you shouldn’t put so much stock into what everyone says, or you’ll end up regretting it. You aren’t a monster or bad luck, they’ll see that eventually”

Sakura felt her chest expand and laughter bubble up and out of it watching Naruto try and blink away fat tears. “Heyyy...don’t cry! I didn’t say anything _that_ moving. C’mon finish your lunch and I’ll pay. My treat”

“SAAAKURA-CHAN YOURTEH BESD!”

~

It took Sakura an hour to get all the paint out of her hair and still longer to try and get it out of her clothes.

“Darling! Take a break and come down for dinner, I don’t think you’ll be able to get those stains out tonight ”

Sakura set down the shirt she’d been scrubbing at. “Just a sec Mom!”

~

Dinner was a simple affair, cooked by her practical mother rather than her extravagant father.

“How’s your ninja training going love?” Mebuki asked as she handed Sakura a bowl of food. 

“It’s going well. I mean d-rank missions are kind of boring but still essential if I want an eventual promotion”

“And you want to to be promoted to…?”

“Chunin Mama. Then Jounin,” Sakura said between bites.

Sakura’s Father frowned. “That would make you a career ninja, is that what you want Sakura-chan? Because you know it’s not too late to drop out”

“I’m sure dad, I know you guys don’t really get it, but I love being a ninja and this is what I want. I’m positive”

“But Sakura? You’re sure you’re happy? Becoming a ninja isn’t too much for you?” Mebiki said, leaning forward seriously.

“I’m fine mom, I can handle it”

“I don’t doubt that, you’re my daughter after all, it’s just-” She glanced at her husband- “well, lately you haven’t been sleeping well I think. You’ve been talking in your sleep and your father and I were worried it was because of your training” 

“You have been working yourself awfully hard Sakura-chan,” Kizashi said, chiming in.

Sakura struggled in keeping her face calm. “Thank you for worrying, but I’m fine. _Really_ ”  

Sakura hated lying to her parents, but she hated worrying them more, making a mental note to put a sound proofing seals around her room that night.

“What about your team? How’re they doing?”

Mebiki’s mouth tightened at the mention.

“They’re good. Kakashi’s a bit lazy but still a good sensei, Sasuke and Naruto are their same old selves but won’t stop arguing because of it. They’re too different and I’m not sure how to make them stop,” Sakura said.

“Well you know boys. At their age they’ll take any excuse to start a fight,” Kizashi said leaning forward mischievously, “especially over a girl as pretty as you”

“Ugh, Dad! You know that isn’t it!” Sakura said trying to hold back a smile. As embarrassing as it was, she had missed her father’s teasing.

“I’m just saying! That’s the way boys are at that age are. Trust me, I was one I know” 

“Oh leave her alone already dear. Would you like some more fish Sakura-chan?”    

~

Sakura met Ino for lunch the next day.

“Forehead! Over here!” Sakura hurried to meet a waving Ino sitting at a table outside a cafe. “Wow, I didn’t know you had it in you” 

“What?” Sakura said sitting down.

“Your outfit. Looks good, though not as good as mine of course,” Ino replied, flipping her hair.

“It’s my day off from missions. And my regular one’s in the wash.” Taking the opportunity to wear something different for a change, Sakura was wearing matching black ninja mesh shorts and shirt underneath a black front zipper skirt and a red crop-top embolized with her clan symbol. Her hair was down in waves, crimped from it’s usual braid and free from her forehead protector. 

“Well, if you dressed like this everyday you might actually have a chance with Sasuke-kun,” Ino said, aggressively waving down a waiter.

Sakura sighed, apologizing to the waiter before placing her order. “Like I said before pig, I’ve completely given up on him. There’s nothing between Sasuke-ku- _Sasuke_ and I”

“Hmmm...alright...although I’m _still_ pissed you weaseled your way onto his team. You’re sure nothing’s happened between you two? Because believe me, if it was me on his team? I would have jumped him already” 

“Ugh, Trust me Ino, he sees he as a teammate nothing more. We’re barely friends, I don’t think he even sees me as a girl”

Something told Sakura letting Ino know about their weird self imposed rivalry wouldn’t go over well.

“What about your team? How goes the famed Ino-Shika-Cho combination?” Sakura asked trying to steer the conversation away from dangerous territory.

“Ugh! _Terrible!_ All Shikamaru wants to do is nap, all Choji wants to do is eat, and all Asuma-sensei wants to do is smoke. They have no interest in anything I want to do and d-rank missions are terrible for my hair! Seriously! I see you laughing Sakura, but I’m being honest, it’s _brutal_ and _boring._ I’m breaking out from the stress!” The forceful waving of Ino’s hands jostled the table.  

“Vain as ever Ino,” Sakura teased, picking up their tea cups to keep them from spilling.

Yes, Ino was vain, loud, clumsy, a bit selfish. But, when the two of them grew up and figured themselves out bit more, she proved to be a very good friend. The kind that’s once in a lifetime, _that once you find you never ever let go you hear me Sakura-chan?_ her father used to say. But Sakura let Ino go, pushed her away even after Sasuke-kun left, kept up their old rivalry for completely conceited reasons. But Ino-chan was Ino-chan, and she would be there to wipe away Sakura’s tears and tie back her hair no matter how many times they fought or what rule number 25 of the shinobi handbook told them. So this time around Sakura would smile at her friend’s flaws knowing that, like any good thing, they were worth it.

Ino crossed her arms, ending her onslaught on the tableware.“You could use some more vanity Sakura, like, I mean, I’m glad you’re focusing on your career right now or whatever, but a girl needs some time for herself!”

“If you’re talking about self care I’m good Ino,” Sakura said, setting down the teacups.

“I’m serious, you don’t want to start stress breaking out do you? Then you’ll _never_ get a cute boyfriend, who is _already_ overlooking your enormous forehead, and our kids won’t be best friends like us because you won’t have any, and I’ll never be the maid of honor at your wedding after I marry...SASUKE-KUN!” Ino suddenly squealed before Sakura could remind her adoption was still a viable option within her life plan. 

Sakura twisted in her seat. Sasuke was heading their way, head kept carefully down, hands stuffed in his pockets, looking like he’d very much like to remain unnoticed.

“Ohmygodohmygod!” Ino’s hands flurried from fixing her hair to smoothing her blouse. “He is looking _right_ at me forehead! Do you think he’s here to ask me out? Ohmygod!”

He stopped in front of Sakura, “I’ve been looking for you S-” 

“YES! OH GOD YES SASUKE-KUN I’LL GO OUT WITH YOU!” Ino yelled, grabbing his hands in hers.

Sakura wished she could disappear as Sasuke yanked his hands back in disgust.

“Sasuke-kun? Sasuke-kun’s here?”

“Oh my god Sasuke-kunnnnn!”

“HANDS OFF BITCH HE’S MINE”

A dozen girls, and concerningly, women flooded the street from various eateries. Sasuke locked eyes with her and, in a panic, grabbed Sakura’s arm and hauled her up and out of her seat.

“Wha- Sas, wait I haven’t paid-” He ignored her in favor of, Sakura in tow, sprinting away only letting go when she gained her stride and shook him off. The girls (and for a time Ino) chased them high and low across half the village until they managed to shake them by the training grounds. Sakura was panting, hands on her knees, Sasuke breathing heavily as well, pale cheeks flushed red. 

“Ugh, what the hell Sasuke? It’s my day off.” Sakura straightened up and put her hands on her hips.

“I wanted to train”

Sakura stretched and flopped back into the grass. “Not today. Today is strictly a no exertion rest day”

“You already broke that.” Sasuke frowned.

“Out of fear for my life! And you’re the one who dragged me along thanks,” Sakura said, “I’m not moving so you can either join me or continue looking stupid from this angle” 

He settled down next to her with minimal grumbling. Sakura broke out into a wide beam. The grass tickled her cheeks as they lay watching the clouds. Maybe Shikamaru was onto something. 

“Sasuke?”

“Hn”

Sakura turned her head, then faltered, she was so close to Sasuke she could make out individual dark eyelashes brushing his cheekbones. She breathed in, smelling woodsmoke and blade oil and...cloves? Two were easily explainable, but the third? Perhaps he had eaten something cooked in them recently? After all, he didn’t strike her as the cologne type. Most ninjas weren’t- something she’d recently been trying to get through Naruto’s head. The sooner she forgot the smell of ramen and body spray the better.

She breathed in again, trying to do so as deeply as possible without being noticed. It was greedy she thought, but...well, everytime she got close enough to smell him in her past life it was of blood and sweat. How could one blame her for wanting to memorize a moment so peaceful? The lulling smell of him, the cool grass gently swaying around her offset by the heat of his body so close to hers, the bright light shining through the trees dappling their faces, the fluffy clouds transforming above them.

“What”

Sakura jolted, Sasuke’s eyes were, thankfully, still closed missing her blush. 

“Oh! Uh, well, I was just wondering...does that happen to you a lot? What happened in town today?” Sakura said, already knowing the answer.

“Yeah,” he said shrugging, like it was unavoidable.

Sakura frowned, feeling her stomach bubble with guilt. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, “it must get tiring being constantly treated like a prize and not a person”

He turned his head to study her, uncomfortably close. Mouth was ever so slightly gaped, eyes open, something foreign lurking within. “Yeah... it does”

Sakura sat up and turned her head, trying to avoid his gaze. “And, uh, I’m sorry about Ino too, she isn’t usually like that”

“I doubt it-” he sat up- “given you’re the one doing the apologizing. Which you don’t ha- I mean it’s not your fault” Sasuke’s jaw clamped down. 

Sakura’s eyes widened, _was he trying to apologize?_ Because for anyone else it was a pretty piss poor attempt but for Uchiha Sasuke? Unheard of.

“Do you want to come to the library with me?” She blurted, stupid panicked brain settling on the worst response.

He blinked.

Despite all her willpower and training she couldn’t manage to quite tamp down the oncoming blush within her stupid prepubescent body. “I mean, just because it’s a no physical exertion day doesn’t mean we can’t train our brains. Um, because it’s a muscle after all. I have some research of my own to do but you can look up whatever you want. I bet you can find something good on ninjutsu or taijutsu, or medicine, you know, since we’ve been practicing it. That is if you want to come, uh, as my training partner”

He blinked again- and Sakura wondered why she had ever agreed to this stupid stupid- and then he laughed. Sort of. It was really more of a snort, but there was a smile in there, she could tell.

“Yeah, I’ll go”

Sakura broke into a radiating grin, “Great”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well the holidays are here and I’m tired, also sick! This was some fun to write, we got Kakashi being an ultimate mood, some sad Naruto, we got to see Sakura’s parents who are *trying* to support their daughter’s life choices, and Ino (who is also an ultimate mood). I think we all have a little of her fabulousness and vanity in us, for better of for worse. There were also the girls in town, now I have a bone to pick with the term “fangirl” because I think all too often young girls and women are demeaned for their interests objectively bad or not simply because it is liked by girls and is thus considered lesser, no fair critique given. So I don’t love the term fangirl, but in this the subject of their interest is a person,who owes them nothing, and they treat him in a way no one should be treated. This objectifying of others is something both society does on a grander scale and what every person has done before on some kind of personal scale. I’ll leave you to interpret what you wish out of that. The 1-dimension of the “fangirls” is also on purpose, Naruto came out 1999-2001ish? Smack in the age of 3rd wave feminism and although it was an important movement there were some drawbacks, for our purposes namely “the pick-me girl” and/or the “not like most girls” trope. So here we are, last chapter before the real plot begins, late 90’s mentalities ready to go (bc the 90’s didn’t end till like late 2002 don’t @ me)-time to watch these kids grow up into fucked millennials.


	6. first step

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> finals season is here and lemme tell you im S U F F E R I N G so yeah because of that this chapter isnt really edited (i also don't have a beta so that's part of why chapters take a while to get out). Also instagram updated itself so it no longer has unlimited scrolling. How am I to lay on my side for hours moving only my thumb now?

It took going after that stupid cat 4 times in a row for Naruto to finally snap and demand a better mission. It was nice to see Tazuna-san again Sakura decided, all rudeness aside. She hadn’t seen him since he helped rebuild Konoha after Pain’s attack and wondered how he and his family had fared during the war. 

Sakura arrived early at the village gate that day. It was her first time leaving the village in this life, same with Naruto and Sasuke. She hoped the boys would be alright. They were last time, but what if her presence changed something? What if she misremembered some unforeseen detail? She was a child last time afterall. Or what if she forgot something? A lack of preparedness could get someone killed.  _ Maybe I should triple check my bag real quick _ , she thought,  _ couldn’t hurt. _

She was sitting on the ground cross legged, counting how many rolls of gauze she had thought to pack when Naruto and Sasuke arrived. 

“Woah Sakura-chan! What’s all this stuff?” 

She looked up, surrounded by scattered weapons and first aid. “Huh? Oh I’m just double checking my supplies before we leave”

Naruto picked up her rubber tourniquet, “What’s this used for Sakura-chan?”

“....amputations”

“EH? Y-you don’t think I’ll lose an arm or anything on this mission do you Sakura-chan!?”

Sasuke rolled his eyes, “relax dobe, you’ll be fine. It’s only a C-rank, even someone like you will be okay” 

Sakura fidgeted and looked away.

~

It was the puddle that tipped her off. Days of no rain and yet the presence of a puddle that large? It was obvious. Every muscle in her body was tense, she couldn’t just attack, not in front of Kakashi. No, she’d have to wait for them. Her eyes darted across the road, Naruto was in front, then Tazuna-san and Sasuke, with Kakashi bringing up the rear. It was fine. They were fine. The demon brothers were low tier, no match for even a 12 year old Sasuke. If he could handle them last time so could Kakashi, never mind her. She took low steady breaths and indulged in one of her favorite mental exercises, mentally listing all known herbs native to the land of earth used to treat fever and inflammation. 

“What’s wrong”

Sakura jumped and glanced at Sasuke, “nothing, it’s fine”

He looked skeptic.

“I told y-” Distracted by Sasuke, Sakura failed to notice the attack until too late. Kakashi was already caught. Close enough to feel blood spatter against her cheek, Sakura felt hers drain away. Mind gone blank, face twisting into something caught between a snarl and a scream, she launched herself at the demon, too fast for defense. Kunai flashing she tore at metal, cloth, skin,and bone. Wet seeped up through her fingers shocking her into stagnance. Was he dead? No. Wet gasps slipped themselves through broken ribs. 

“S-Sakura-chan?” Naruto was pale, Sasuke paler. Tazuna-san looked queasy. Kakashi was there, of course he was, he had never really died. The blood on her cheek had been an illusion, quickly replaced with a reality of her own making.

Kakashi stepped forward, soft and easy. Serious for once, he knelt down, slowly unwinding the kunai from her fingers 

“I’m sorry Sakura-chan, I didn’t mean to scare you, any of you. I only let them think they killed me in order to gauge their real target” 

Sakura jerkily nodded understanding, “It’s okay. He’s not dead. I’ll heal him. I’m sorry for any inconvenience” She pulled her hands from his.

Kakashi’s uncovered eye watched her sadly. “No, no inconvenience at all Sakura-chan” 

Sakura turned away, trying to escape his gaze, it made her feel small, like a pitied child, something precious ruined. She took a breath and focused her energy so it hummed in her palms, painstakingly maintaining the flow and purpose so it created a nice light green glow. Careful not to give away too much of her ability, she let it flicker and wane, looking as if her chakra control wasn’t s impeccable as it really was. Leaking energy into the man’s chest, she slowed his blood flow before probing her way into the breaks, getting a feel for the severity of his injuries. She imagined a callus forming around the break, then it hardening and calcifying to become as strong as iron, lastly she stimulated the cell specification process to create osteoclasts, giving them a kick start in remodeling bone before pulling her chakra away, slowly, as to not shock the system, clotting cuts and stopping bleeding altogether as she went.

She stood up, facing the shocked expressions of her group “he’ll be unconscious but okay”

~

Naruto thought his brain was gonna explode. Old man Tazuna was in danger because some chocolate dude was trying to kill him because the old man was trying to build a bridge, and Kakashi-sensei said this this wasn’t a c-rank mission after all which Naruto thought was pretty cool, but sensei looked pretty worried which was bad, and then they started talking about like trade and politics? 

Well either way Naruto had stopped listening, he had more pressing matters, like whatever was up with Sakura-chan. She hadn’t said anything since she had healed that guy, which actually wasn’t  _ that _ weird, Sakura-chan wasn’t that loud and she always thought before she spoke. But she hadn’t said anything when politics came up, which was  _ definitely  _ weird. Naruto might not have understood what she said half the time but he did know that Sakura-chan was super smart, and she loved proving it by talking about smart people things, like politics. 

And the way she went after that guy? Naruto had never seen her like that before, almost mindless, desperate to kill. Worst thing was, during it all he was completely useless. He froze, leaving Sakura-chan and the bastard to handle everything, he didn’t even  _ try  _ to protect the old bridge guy. Next time would be different though, next time he’d show that bastard how cool he is and he’d be the one to protect Sakura-chan. 

~

Naruto found his opportunity sooner than he’d thought, Kakashi-sensei was trapped in that creepy no eyebrows’s water bubble and a double was blocking their escape. They had to fight this one out. 

“Hey, Sakura-chan, remember that time we had to do a runner because you forgot money?” He cut his eyes to sensei, hoping she would understand.

“What?” She frowned in confusion before eyes widened in understanding, “Sasuke, get ready to follow my lead. Also you were the one who forgot money after saying you’d treat me idiot!” 

“Haha, yeahhhh….” 

With a roll of her eyes, Sakura shot forward with Sasuke hot on her heels. Naruto never understood how she got so fast, probably because she was so small and lightweight, but then again Sasuke was fast too, and they were both taller than him dammit! 

“Stop! Take Tazuna and run! You can’t win this fight!”

Ego already bruised, Naruto snapped, “Shut up Sensei! I won’t back down or give up, that’s my ninja way. So just shut up and let us save you! We’re a team right?” 

“Well said kid! Give’em hell!” Tazuna cheered whilst inching away from the fight.

Sakura-chan and the bastard were doing a good job keeping the clone distracted but it wouldn’t last forever, Naruto put his hands together creating a number of clones of his own. Easily overwhelmed, Naruto fell back. 

“Hey! Bastard!” Pulling a fuma shuriken from his bag he chucked it at the back of Sasuke’s head. 

Sasuke glared at him after only catching the shuriken at the last moment, then smirked. “Hn, I see. Not bad”

Pivoting, Sasuke threw it at the real Zabuza who caught it, a second one shortly following suit forcing Zabuza to jump over it. Once behind him, the shuriken transformed into Naruto.

“Eat this eyebrows!” Naruto launched a kunai at Zabuza’s wrist forcing him to release Kakashi. 

Roaring in anger, Zabuza turned to a now panicked Naruto, but was blocked by Kakashi. 

“That was an excellent plan Naruto, stacking two fuma shuriken on top of each other, although I don’t really understand the relevance of a dine and dash”

“Haha yeah, Sakura-chan and I got caught right off the bat, while scolding us Iruka-sensei said, ‘if you’re going to try and steal at least don’t be so obvious about it, never give away your true intention’ all we had to do was apply that logic to stealing a person. And I already knew Sasuke had another shuriken since Sakura-chan made us double check all our supplies before we left”

“Very clever, I'll handle this from here on out though if you don't mind,” Kakashi-sensei said, tugging his forehead protector up revealing a strange red eye framed by a vertical scar. 

“Well, well, well….Kakashi of the Sharingan...so the rumors are true. This’ll be an interesting battle”

“Don’t flatter yourself Zabuza. This’ll be over before you know it, your future is death” 

It was all Naruto could do to get out of the way as fast as possible.

~

“It was insane. Kakashi-sensei and No Eyebrows were totally relentless. Destruction everywhere, I was so sure we were going to get caught it the crossfire and die, it was so cool!  And Zabuza swinging around his giant sword and calling Sensei a fraud and then sensei was all like “let’s see a fraud do THIS” and then he totally copied the eyebrow guy’s move and he was all like “what the heck you can’t do that” but clearly he could because he DID. But then, just as sensei was getting ready to unleash some kinda ultimate move this kid in a mask showed up and totally stole our victory! Completely killed Zabuza, in cold blood, out of nowhere! I was ready to fight, give em the old one two Naruto punch you know? But then Kaka-sensei stopped me and Sakura-chan looked really worried for some reason so I didn’t but then Kaka-sensei passed out and I had to carry him home”

“W-wow that’s amazing Naruto-kun, thank you for going so far to protect my father,” Tsunami said.

“No problem lady! Just doing my duty as a ninja of Konoha”

Sasuke scoffed, Sakura was examining Kakashi in the other room, no one was allowed in so they were confined to the living room with only Naruto to keep them entertained. Sasuke was not entertained. He needed to talk to Kakashi, he’d never heard of someone outside of his clan with the Sharingan, if he could get him to show him how Sasuke could unlock his own taking him one step closer to killing Itachi. Standing up, Sasuke crossed the room to knock on Kakashi’s door. It flung open.

“What” Sakura’s ponytail was rumpled and off center, bangs no longer held in place by her forehead protector were raked sideways at an odd angle. It wasn’t the first time he’d knocked.

“When can I see him?”

“When he’s had proper bed rest, he’s only just woken up and I  _ don’t  _ need you stressing him out with your questions!” She gripped the doorframe in frustration. 

“Mah, Mah, Sakura-chan. I’m not so old I’ll die from a visitor or two” Sasuke peered over Sakura’s shoulder to see Kakashi smiling and sitting up in bed, his eye was covered again. 

“Kaka-sensei! You’re awake!” Naruto barreled past both Sasuke and Sakura into the room, with Sakura abandoning her post to keep the dobe from tackle hugging their teacher, Sasuke slipped in behind them. 

“Naruto, OUT,” she dragged him back by his collar, “you’ve seen him, he’s fine, now I can’t have you acting this way around a patient” Sasuke looked on with sympathy, as annoying as he found that idiot, it was like watching a puppy get scolded. That sympathy turned to empathy when Sakura turned the full force of her glare on him. “Don’t think I don’t see you too Sasuke”

Kakashi chuckled, “C’mon Sakura-chan they’ve been sufficiently scared and I’m perfectly alright, if Sasuke has questions it’s within his right to ask them”

“Fine” She leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.

“Alone Sakura-chan”

Sasuke could practically hear her teeth grind together.

~

Sakura ignored them that night- she ate dinner, helped clean up, didn’t even scold Naruto for not helping, checked on Kakashi one last time, then went straight to bed. The old man had a limited amount of rooms in his house so she shared a room with both him and Naruto, something she wasn’t that happy about as evidenced from the way she set her futon up in the room’s remotest corner.  _ It was stupid _ , Sasuke thought,  _ she didn’t have to worry about him touching her, and that dobe may be a pervert but he adored Sakura way too much to try anything.  _

~

Naruto snored. There was no getting around it, and there was no waking him up. It was like a hive of enormous fucking wasps were all screaming at different intervals while some asshole who can’t even read sheet music played 12 chainsaws the way you would a violin. It was inconceivable. Even more amazing was that he was the only one hearing this. Naruto was obviously out, no matter what Sasuke did he couldn’t wake him, but Sakura? She was curled up in her corner, a tangle of blankets and sweet sweet obliviousness. 

Sasuke closed his eyes, took deep breaths and tried to block out all existing sounds. Perhaps if he meditated long enough he could make himself fall into a dreamlike state.This was an important opportunity for self advancement and growth, after all, mediation was known to boost chakra levels and clear any excess stress, clearing the mind. He took more deep breaths, really, in a way, he should be thanking Naruto. Yes, he took more deep breaths as Naruto’s snores became meaningless white noise, he could feel his mind darken, his eyes grow heavier, hi-mOTHERFUCK. A new noise had cut through the air, ruining all his progress, this time from Sakura.

He shot out of bed, she was taunting him, taunting him with her stupid ability to sleep, he crept closer, ready to poke her awake through her cocoon. If he had to suffer through Naruto’s snores so would she, Naruto as her friend anyways, not Sasuke’s. 

“No..stop...I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry, no…..please...no” it was a nightmare. She was having a nightmare. Sasuke felt something twist inside him. Slowly, he reached out and shook her shoulder. Too fast for him to react, a hand shot out from the blankets, grabbing and twisting his arm, forcing him to the floor. 

He stared up at her straddling him, Naruto’s snores buzzing through his brain, arms bent up and over his head at a painful angle. Filtered moonlight streamed around her, haloing mussed pink turned argent, light stuck to round wet cheeks, gimmering off green gems locked in cast iron cages.

She scrambled off him and turned away, like she’d been burned to the touch. 

“You...were having a nightmare” Sasuke stared at her back, watching her scrub at her cheeks and nose.

A few deep breaths later, she turned back around, eyes dry, face of stone. “Thanks, I didn’t wake you did I?”

“No” Sasuke said, looking to Naruto, snores only slightly muffled from the way he lay completely face down in his pillow. 

“Oh, yeah, sorry about him,” his eyebrow twitched, _ why did she always have to apologize for others? _ “Goodnight Sasuke-k-” She cut off, seemed to shake herself a bit, then rewrapped herself back into her futon.

“Hn.” He climbed into his own. He didn’t sleep much more that night, but not because of Naruto, because he couldn’t shake the feeling he’d accidentally violated some forbidden boundary between them.  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay well we got a good look at some more of Sakura's trauma™ this chapter. I'm not going to go into too much detail (mostly bc I have a paper due real soon and I'm Not Doing That) but psycological trauma and tramatic stress is clinically proven to alter the brain in quite a few ways usually to do with behavioral changes and the development of a mental illness. Sakura who has and continues to experience such psychological stress would I imagine largely manifest itself as anxiety (we see this really throughout). When triggered (in Sakura's case-death of loved one) the amygdala triggers the flight, fight, or freeze resonse. Fight with Kakashi-she's a ninja and there are real ememies around (demon bros) and freeze with naruto in the bell test-didn't actually sense any real enemies which would factor into that response, same with in canon when she sees Sasuke for the first time in Shippuden- she freezes, she's still in love with Sasuke and believes in him he isn't a real threat to her she's merely shocked into freezing (also was not a trigger of hers). It's all real facinating stuff. There have been medical studies and trials with evidence pointing to electrical stimulation as a means to speed up the body's natural healing process, it's very cool and definately worth looking into, I mention this because I think of medical ninjutsu as being a process somewhat like this, just on a grander scale. I also,,,uh, drastically dumbed down the process of Sakura healing demon bro #1-I wanted to explain medical ninjutsu step by step according to like actual biological processes but did NOT want to bore anyone with the actual nitty gritty chemical process of it all. This isn't my homework for christ's sake.


	7. The Land of the Waves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven’t posted in like 5 weeks and I’m really sorry I’m gonna try to get a more regular schedule for posting but I do have a couple of really good reasons as to why I haven’t over the last 5 weeks I’ve had exams, the holidays (hope everyone had a nice one), I moved, my dog of 16 years fell sick and sadly died, and my teachers are sadists so my life has been pretty hectic lately.

Mornings were cold and grey in the Land of Waves, light filtering itself through threadbare curtains to fill whole rooms like a bad omen. It was a far cry from the golden rays of Konoha, peeking through the tops of trees and slanting its way into windows creating warm sleepy sunbeams.

Sakura shivered, wrapping her hands around a cup of hot tea, so generously provided by Tsunami-san. She blew on it gently, watching grey steam curl up towards the ceiling. She was in a bad way this mission, last night she had dreamed of the old Team Seven. Of a time when all she could do was stand back, protected as everyone else around her died. Haruno Sakura, forever the weakest link. She scoffed at that.

She had no dreams of the man she’d almost killed a day before. Death was not a new concept for her, she probably even knew it better than most. As a ninja, she’d killed before, as much as she hated to. She’d taken down those who would harm her but also those who would harm the people and the village she loved. It was necessary. But as a healer, she’d also fought it inch for inch, usually winning, though sometimes she lost and all she could do was whisper empty promises to her patients and empty platitudes to the families.

Kakashi was her family, maybe not perfect and maybe they weren’t yet that close in this world but his pseudo death still awakened in her dreams memories of things far above what constituted this Haruno Sakura’s pay grade. And Sakura talked in her sleep, she had all her life and had never been able to stop. Fortunately, Sakura knew a mini personal seal that would effectively silence any and all auditory symptoms of her dreams. She smiled remembering how Naruto had jokingly gifted it to her one year. The real joke had been on him though, Sakura had always been terrible at sealing, her only academic failing. Understand it conceptually all you like, sealing was one of those things that required a natural talent to fully master. He’d groaned and asked if this was what it had been like teaching him. Sakura had thrown a cup at his head.

Still, even if she managed to silence her dreams, some damage had already been dealt. Sakura leaned back in her chair, head tipped back, eyebrows knotting at the ceiling, trying not to think of the way Sasuke’s eyes had looked in the moonlight. She had no way of telling what he had heard last night. But what he knew could wait, she’d just have to trust for now that it wasn’t anything that could jeopardize her mission. There were currently so many things more important than some boy’s eyes and his opinion of her (although he wasn’t just some boy and that was the problem). Zabuza was still alive and Haku was still out there that was sure enough, and there was also Gato to contend with. If they could just deal with this mission as soon as possible so she could take care of Orochimaru during the chunin exams which would hopefully keep Sasuke safe in the village with Naruto so she could figure out how to stop Akatsuki. Sakura sighed and winced as she took a sip of her tea, there were too many maybes to this plan.

“That bad huh?”

Sakura looked up to see Tsunami-san and opened her mouth to apologize.

“It’s alright Sakura-chan, I’ve never been an expert tea brewer, always make a cup too strong or too weak I’m afraid. And with the price of tea rising again..well we’ve got a lot of weak tea in our future!” She laughed and took a seat across from Sakura.

Sakura looked down at her teacup, “I’m sorry Tsunami-san, I know things have been tight around here lately, with Gato’s taxes and the cost of building the bridge, and now you have four ninja eating you out of house and home” 

“Oh it’s all right, we’ll find a way to manage and I always enjoy having more company around”

“Still, there must be something I can do to help out? Kakashi-sensei’s already on the mend so I’d welcome something to do” 

“Well...if you don’t mind, I’ve got to go grocery shopping today but it’s laundry day. If I give you a list could you go out and buy them for me? As a ninja you’ll probably be better suited to go into town than me”

“Just tell me what you need,” Sakura smiled.

~

The sheer extent of poverty Gato subjected the people of the Land of the Waves to always made Sakura sick to her stomach. She felt anger nestle into her stomach, it wasn’t fair that these people had to suffer so much purely because they got unlucky in the area they were born in. So easily, by some cosmic twist of fate could it have been her here begging for food, taken advantage of and trapped into a cycle of poverty by some corrupt businessman who couldn’t look past his own wallet.

A cry of pain came from somewhere on her right. Sakura frowned and turned to see a young boy around 8 or 9 holding his cheek, tears in his eyes. A large burly man wearing a stained apron stood over him, holding him roughly by the arm.

“I’ll teach you to steal again you little punk.” The man raised a hand to hit the boy again. But the blow never came.

“I think that’s quite enough Sir.” Sakura had moved behind him and had grabbed the his arm before he could hit the boy again.

“Get outta the way girl, this brat’s a thief. Nicked a loaf of bread from my shop right under my nose! Thinks he’s slick”

“Only cause we’re starving!” The boy twisted and kicked in the man’s grasp trying to wriggle his way to freedom.

“You’re starving? That don’t make you special, every bastard on this damn island’s starving!” He tried to yank his arm out of Sakura’s hand but couldn’t. “Let me go you bitch!”

“Woahhh...Sir, calm down. How about I pay for the bread and you let the boy go? That sound alright to you?” Sakura said soothingly. 

“800 yen”

Sakura balked, “800? For a loaf of bread? That’s ridiculous”

“Hey lady, I gotta eat too. You aren’t from around here are you? One of them fancy ninja types? I know you can pay it”

Sakura tightened her grip, no wonder people were stealing when he charged such exorbitant prices! “I’ll pay 350, no more. Either way I’m not letting you have this boy, just this way you have the chance at some reimbursement” The man winced. “250 is far above its true price and you know it” Sakura pressed.

“Fine!” Sakura let him pull back his arm. “But I’ll be watching you boy, I don’t want to see you around my shop no more you hear?”   

Once the man had left Sakura turned to the kid, on closer inspection she could tell he was painfully thin and bruised like he’d been on the losing end of a couple of fights. She knelt down and handed him the loaf.

“Thanks lady, you’re real nice,” a bright smile shone out from grimy scratched cheeks. Sakura had to turn away for a moment, overcome with how similar his smile was to Naruto’s.

“My name’s Sakura, can you tell me yours?” 

“Kento. But everyone just calls me Ken”

“You’re hurt Ken-chan, I’m a healer and I can help you, watch.” She willed her hand to glow green. Smiling softly at his wide eyes, she pressed it lightly to his cheek, pulling away when she felt it fully healed.

His own grubby little hand felt his fixed cheek, mouth falling open with amazement. “You gotta come with me Sakura-Oneesan” he grabbed her hand and took off at a run, pulling her through crowds and down winding roads and back alleys, sometimes so narrow they could just barely squeeze through.

They stopped in front of a large ramshackle wooden building. Based on the design it had perhaps, many years ago, been a traditional inn of some sort. Ken-chan burst inside, to what looked to have once been a lobby.

“Yuri-baba! Yuri-baba!”

A woman looking to be around the age of 60 or so hurried down the stairs. She had the look and air of someone who had once been very important and very beautiful. Now she was thin and world weary, heavy lines and dark circles decorated her face, and jet black hair was shot through with streaks of silver. Her posture was still impeccable however, as if a lifetime of discipline had created a steel frame running through her bones.

“Quiet Kento! Do you wish to disturb the ill?” The woman snapped.

“But look! I found a healer, she helped me, she can help Mama and everyone else!”

Sharp eyes took in Sakura and the woman’s lip curled, “That is no healer child, she’s a ninja. Just look at the ensignia she bears, another murderer of Konoha”

Sakura stiffened and felt her hackles rise. “You’re right I’m of Konoha but I am a medic-nin. It is my sworn duty to help those in need, if there are people here to be healed I will try my best to ensure their health” 

“Try your best? What can a child like you do? Very well, you’re welcome to _try your best_ all you want. Now excuse me there is real work to be done” Drawing herself to her fullest height Yuri-san swept back up the stairs.

Ken-chan grabbed her hand again, “C’mon! Ba-chan said you could so let’s go!” He dragged her up the stairs and behind Yuri-san into a room. Furniture was pushed haphazardly out of the way, five patients were crammed into one small room and laid out on futons. Yuri-san was leaning over to feel one woman’s forehead.

“Are all the rooms like this? Filled with patients?” Sakura asked softly, kneeling down across from Yuri.

Yuri glared at Sakura then turned her attention back to the patient. “There’s no such thing as health care in the land of the waves. There’s no money to treat them, hell no money to keep them from getting sick. Our country is quarantined, rotting away from the inside. All thanks to a bunch of ninja thugs like you, only looking out for their own pockets”

“What is happening to your country isn’t right Yuri-san, I’m not like those ninja you know, I’m here to help”

Yuri scoffed disbelievingly, “And how much does your help cost?”

Sakura opened her mouth indignantly, but was cut off by Ken-chan, “Enough with the chatter! Can you heal my mom now?” 

Sakura leaned over the woman and summoned chakra to her hands, holding one over the woman’s head and the other over her chest, closing her eyes and allowing her chakra to scan the woman’s condition. Sakura leaned forward to listen to her breathing then opened her mouth to peer inside, next taking out a small flashlight to inspect the reactivity of her patient’s pupils. Sakura sat back up.

“Ken-chan, it’ll be alright. Your mother has a fairly common parasitic infection most likely from contaminated drinking water. This one tends to mimic the symptoms of your run of the mill stomach virus so it’s often mistaken and mistreated until too late”

“Can you heal her?” Yuri said, her eyes narrowed. 

“Yes, yes I can heal her, free of charge. And I’d like to take a look at your other patients while I’m at it,” Sakura said rolling up her sleeves.

~

Sasuke didn’t understand what was taking so long. He’d overheard Tsunami tell the idiot that Sakura had gone out to do some shopping and should be back shortly; that was hours ago. Kakashi was still on bed rest and both Naruto and Tsunami seemed like they hadn’t yet noticed Sakura’s absence.

Irritated, Sasuke tapped on his sandals and slunk out of the house. Night was just beginning to brush the sky, painting over the cold lavender of dusk. He walked through what passed for the town’s downtown area, it was largely abandoned as anyone with any common sense would be safe inside right now. Unfortunately he thought, his teammates seemed to be lacking in that regard. His knuckles blanched as shoved them into his pockets, noticing women and men too leer at him from the shadows, shoulders tense as he ignored their calls.

Sasuke soon scouted out the local grocer, he was locking up, back turned to Sasuke. Noticing eyes on him, the man turned glaring, “keep moving boy, there’s nothing to see here, nothing to steal either” 

“I’m looking for a girl, she has pink hair,” Sasuke said. 

“What she cheat you too? Because if you find her tell that bitch if I ever see that brat around here again I’ll kill him”

Sasuke’s jaw clenched, irritation itching at his skin and fire bubbling in his chest. “What brat?”

“Fucking street scum stole from me, I was gonna put him in his place but then your pink haired bitch got in the way. If you wanna find her find him”

Sasuke eyed him expectantly, the man scowled, “you think I gotta tell you? If you wanna know, you gotta pay”

Sasuke hated people like this, rude, unnecessarily difficult, and unreasonably arrogant. It pissed him off to see people boast and bluster with nothing to back it up.

“And you think I won’t just make you tell me?” Sasuke said.

“Go home kid, you may think you’re the shit but you ain’t. I seen your type, you don’t got it in ya to kill. Just another wannabe ninja tryna act bigger than he is”

Sasuke’s arm shot out to grab the man by the collar, dragging him forward so they were eye to eye, not saying a word.

“Okay! Touched a sore spot I guess. Look, I dunno the kid’s name but I know people have seen him on the west end of town, by the old inn. Apparently they turned it into a hospital or something”

Sasuke dropped the man and walked away.  _Hospital huh?_

~

“Yuri-san, if you could hold pressure here? Thank you” Sakura said, it was easier (and saved chakra) to have someone else staunch the blood flow while she focused only on healing the wound itself.

Yuri-san and Ken-chan had done a good job taking care of these patients considering their level of expertise and it seemed Yuri was wise enough to know to separate patients by severity. However separating them by

type of affliction as well didn’t seem to occur to Yuri-san, making it slightly more difficult to treat them efficiently. It was worrying to Sakura that an already weakened patient could have contracted something from another considering their close proximity. While Yuri-san assisted Sakura in the treatment of patients she had Ken-chan move patients and sanitize equipment and bedding.  

They had worked their way through the most serious of patients and were about half way through the slightly more stable ones when Sakura’s vision started to swim, black dots floating in and out of her peripheral vision. She’d rubbed a hand at her temple for just a moment before continuing, it seemed her steady use of chakra had started to catch up with her having already had a headache for the past hour.

“Alright. That’s enough for this one,” Sakura said trying to focus on finishing with the patient’s bandages “I want these changed every two days and him on strict bed rest for the next week”

She was about to ask Yuri who was next when Sakura heard Ken-chan shouting down the hall. 

“-told you! You can’t go in there! I said stop!” This time Ken-chan’s voice came from outside the door.

Standing up in alarm, Sakura cursed when she realized she had gotten up too fast, vision blacking out for a moment as her knees buckled. 

Confused to find herself not on the floor but instead standing upright leaning against something hard Sakura’s eyebrows furrowed as she held a hand to her head. _I didn’t know there was a wall here?_  She opened her eyes and her heart stopped.

Sasuke was holding her. Sasuke was _holding_ her. _Sasuke_  was holding _her!_  Sakura felt like her mind was melting as she stared up into his eyes, completely frozen. Of course they’d been close to or even had physical contact before but it had always been an accident or while sparring, never on purpose and never of Sasuke’s own initiative. A couple months ago he would have happily let her drop.

“Sakura”

She lurched back, stumbling a little. She shook her head trying to clear her mind of the memories she had immediately been plunged into. Memories of another time he had looked at her like that and said her name like that, a time where she meant so little to him she wasn’t even worth killing. But that wasn’t what had shaken her, it was the feeling of his voice reverberating down her spine, her back burning red hot from where he had placed a steadying hand, it was the way her stomach clenched in a not entirely unpleasant way. She still loved him. After everything she still loved him. Even memories of his apathy made her heart race. How foolish.

“I’m fine’” Sakura said, holding up a hand to ward off Sasuke. To be feeling these things for him was dangerous. Her relationship to Sasuke was a bad habit and a collection of mistakes all wrapped up in a nice bow of unresolved trauma. She knew she loved him but she also knew he did not love her and all this….involvement they’ve had going on this time around was just...too much of a distraction. She needed to focus on helping people and bettering herself so she could stop those who would try and hurt Konoha, a list that, if she could not kill Orochimaru, potentially included Sasuke. Whatever they were now, friends, rivals, or even just teammates, that had to come second to the mission. Oh, she’d save him alright but not out of love, not this time.

“What are you doing here?” Sakura asked, glaring.

“It’s late”

Sakura’s frown was interrupted by Yuri, “Sakura-san, do you know this boy?”

“Yes, he’s another ninja from my village here on assignment”

“Then you should go with him, these streets are dangerous at night and you are in no condition to defend yourself” As if sensing Sakura’s objection Yuri spoke again, “You’ve done well today and I’m sorry for my misjudgement. You may come again tomorrow”

Sasuke nodded and grabbed Sakura’s arm, making his way out of the inn with Sakura stumbling behind him.

Sakura wrenched her arm out of his grip, “I don’t need you to walk me home”

Sasuke didn’t say anything.

“I’m not weak, I can handle these streets myself,” Sakura said.

She heard his footsteps stop behind her. “Of course you aren’t, just stupid.”

“Excuse me?” Sakura stopped, dumbfounded.

“You don’t owe those people anything”

“It doesn’t matter what I owe or not, it’s a matter of ethics! We can’t all be self absorbed assholes Sasuke!”

“What’s self absorbed is you putting the team and the mission at stake by coming here”

“I took an oath!”

“Did you? Last I checked you weren’t a licensed medic. You don’t owe them anything just focus on your own and our team’s safety”

“I can do both”

“Clearly you can’t or I wouldn’t be here”

“I’m not weak”

“I didn’t say you were weak Sakura, you’ve never been weak. Just stupid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is Sasuke’s version of a complement, or at least as far as he can get to one. Also I hate country music but so will listen to the Dixie Chicks until I die.


End file.
